If you don’t know Julia Budd’s name just yet, here’s betting you soon will.

Budd, who’s originally from Roberts Creek and now trains out of Gibson MMA in Port Moody, will take on Marloes Coenen of the Netherlands for the Bellator women’s featherweight title March 3 in Thackerville, Okla., in the first-ever female main event in the company’s history.

Budd, 33, speaks well. She has a compelling back story, from being married to her trainer, Lance Gibson, to having competed already against some of the bigger names in her sport, including Ronda Rousey, Amanda Nunes and Gina Carano.

She’s also photogenic. We can debate whether that should matter, but there’s no doubt that some will connect with her initially for that reasoning.

With a win over Coenen, Budd has a chance to garner considerable mainstream attention. With a win over Coenen, she could be on her way to being a big deal in the MMA world.

“I’m open to anything.” said Budd, who is listed at 5-foot-8 and 145 pounds.

“My goal is to win this title fight and see what opens up after that. I can’t look past it. Everything I am doing right now is so focussed on that.

“It feels like everything is coming together and my dreams are coming true. The opportunity is here. I’m ready to take it, seize it and make it mine.”

Julia Budd has competed against big-name fighters like Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano, and has already beaten the current UFC featherweight champion, Germaine de Randamie.

Budd started martial arts when she was 15. She had become disillusioned with team sports, and wanted something to keep her fit and active.

She was training on the Sunshine Coast with one of Gibson’s students, and they began coming to Port Moody on weekends to spar at his gym.

She was already an MMA fan, and admitted she was at first “star-struck” with Gibson, 46, who had an extensive fight career of his own, including losing a 1997 bout to the legendary Dan Severn.

Their relationship evolved. Budd and Gibson started dating 10 years ago ago and have been married for four years.

“We were best friends. We were spending every day together. I think it was only natural,” Budd said. “It has its challenges now. We’re together day and night, but we know how to separate things.

“When I come to train, he’s the boss, he’s my coach.”

Gibson has enough cachet in the MMA world that he was helping train well-known UFC competitor Quinton (Rampage) Jackson in the 2010. Budd was in limbo at the time, frustrated after losing a kickboxing world title fight, and was hanging out at a training camp.

A phone call came from the MMA promotion Strikeforce, offering Budd a chance to compete.

“We were driving somewhere and I was saying, ‘No way, I’m not fighting,’” remembered Budd. “Rampage was like, ‘You know what Jules … I think it’s good idea.’”

She eventually agreed, and she won her MMA debut against Shana Nelson on Oct. 22, 2010. She would lose her second fight to Nunes, the current UFC women’s bantamweight champion, on Jan. 7, 2011. She dropped her fourth bout to Rousey on Nov. 18, 2011, which was part of Rousey’s run-up to becoming a media darling.

Budd’s won her seven fights since, moving her career mark to 9-2-0.

“After fighting Ronda, I focussed a lot on my wrestling and I’m really confident there now,” said Budd, who beat the celebrated Carano in a Muay Thai bout in 2005.

“I didn’t have that doubt going into future fights. If it goes to the ground, that’s great. If it’s standing, that’s great, too. I can fight anywhere.”

Julia Budd will take on Marloes Coenen of the Netherlands for the Bellator womenâs featherweight title March 3 in Thackerville, Okla., in the first-ever female main event in the companyâs history.

This bout with Coenen, 35, who has a 23-7-0 career mark, kicks off a three-fight contract with Bellator for Budd.

UFC is still the biggest player in the MMA game. They just introduced a women’s featherweight division, and their champion is Germaine de Randamie, 32. Budd beat her on June 24, 2011, when both were with Strikeforce.

Add that to the suggestions that things could be looking up and up for Budd.

“What has kept me in this for this long? Love. Love. Love, for sure,” she said. “I love it. I don’t just love the competition. I love the training. I love teaching. I love being around the martial arts. I feel like it’s a part of me.

“I don’t think most people understand how difficult it is. Certain people I talk to, they get it. And certain people just see the end factor, the fight night. They don’t realize how many years goes into it. They don’t see the ups and downs, the high and lows, the training and the dedication.

“I get nervous before my fights. All those doubts are there, but they do get smaller and smaller as the fight approaches. When you first find out that you are fighting somebody, it feels like you have this weight on you. And, then, as you start training and breaking it down, it starts to go away. By the end, it’s time to let go and do what your body is trained to do.”

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